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30 Jul 2015

Immigrants! That's right; I am appalled

If you have clicked on this article because
you are hoping to find in me some kindred spirit who also is appalled at the
immigration issue in Calais. Well you are absolutely right. I am appalled at
the way so many people in the media, and wider public, are reacting to the situation.

Reports have cited nearly 3,000
people are at the camp in Calais and described some of the terrible journeys
they have taken from war torn and desperate countries in to the hands of
kidnappers and gangs to meet only xenophobia from Britain and France.

If we decided to grant space in our
country for these 3000 people it would equate to a 0.005% increase in the
population. What difference would this really make? Very little to the lives of
you and I (my reader sat comfortably in Britain) but to these bold people who have
fought against the odds? It would change their entire world.

No matter how high we build the
fences, no matter how much money is spent on security, no matter how many
police and soldiers are drafted in, they will keep coming. Why? Because it is
worth it. We cannot even begin to understand the situation from our perspective
of British socialisation.

For too long have the countries of the west benefited from a state of affairs which has pillaged other countries through
war and exploited an imbalanced global free market which sees that we are the
winners whilst ensuring that there are definite losers.

Now there are people across the
world looking to our country and saying “I want a bit of that”. Yet we are
jealously guarding our spoils and sneering at the desperate attempts of ‘migrants’
who are leaping on to lorries and trains. Our own Prime Minister and described
these people as a ‘swarm’. Equating the lives of real people with an insect
infestation that must be wiped away.

The greatest thing that we could do
to ensure the security of our borders is begin to give back to the parts of the
world from which we have taken for too long. We need compassion. We need to
hold our government to account. We need to focus spending on aid. We need to
move away from wars for resources or from conflicts in lands where the
situation is far too complex for us to understand the implications of our
meddling. We need to talk. Most of all we need a little remorse.

"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing."Arundhati Roy

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I note that these blogs entries may not be the views of the Green Party, but could be considered campaign material during an election. It must therefore be noted they are printed by, promoted by and on behalf of the Stroud District Green Party, 2 The Laurels, Bread Street, Ruscombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL6 6EL.